Sharing is GOOD!

I have many wonderful colleagues out in cyberspace right now blogging to their hearts content and one of the benefits of this is that we are all sharing our new finds, our ideas and suggestions.  One such colleague is Janna, in a recent blog post she writes about not knowing how to put a little 2 in her equation, you know, as in metres squared.  Well it is funny because I had the same issue with the division symbol - you know the one with - and two dots.  Gotta love Google and sharing and collaboration. This is how I am making it though the maze of technology and for that matter university as a whole. I am guessing that collaboration and sharing and if I am honest, Google, will all be a part of my life as a teacher.  It is through this cooperation that I will benefit most.


The word cooperation is a funny one for me as it always reminds me of Sesame Street - they were big on cooperation when I was watching as a kid in the 70s.  It is a wonderful thing and it has stuck with me all these years.   I digress slightly but it is all about learning and retaining and little kids can retain an awful lot if we go about imparting knowledge in a meaningful way.


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From one learner to another

My colleague, Lydia, talks further about Constructionism in a recent blog post. The article she refers to takes the idea of constructionist learning and applies it to something that most kids love - gaming - on the computer, game consoles, iPods - you name it and kids will be using it to play games.  I witness this all the time with my own children and my friends children.  And as a parent, I often wonder, are they learning anything? Is this ok? Can this much computer time be good for my child?  It is a problem that many parents face but looking at this from a different perspective I can see the possible benefits.  In some of the games, children can design what happens, where it happens and how it happens. Surely these experiences are of benefit.


By allowing our children and students to make the games they want to play, we allow them to learn the ins and outs of games but also the process and logical thought that goes hand in hand with making a successful game.  Students will have to offer feedback for others games and in turn make improvements.   All skills that will be valuable for life not just school.



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The new generation of software engineers.

Constructionism: Children learn best when they use computers in a way that puts them in the active roles of designer and builder.


So what does this mean?  How can I as a future teacher use this in the classroom?  Is it just the process that makes the learning happen or the sharing of the learning?


In this article, Idit Harel, shares with us the theory of constructionist learning developed by Seymour Papert in the 1980s. Here Harel uses the example of when we as adults need to impart our knowledge to someone else, by teaching we learn the subject very well.  My friends and I have discussed this before as one of the ways we learn.  It is the same for children.  If they work hard and learn and then share that knowledge with others it will stay with them for a very long time, maybe even for life.


As teachers if we encourage students in creating their own cyber space (whatever form that may take) and have them decide what they put in their space and then share it with a community, we can not only expand their knowledge but cement it firmly in place.


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Lifelong learners

After reading the article Digital Video Goes to School by Hoffenberg and Handler, one thing that stood out for me was the reference to lifelong learners.  As it turns out I am becoming one of them.  It is a term that I have used many times in my past as a sales rep for educational books. Back in the day, the books I recommended to parents were the ones that engaged children, offered hands on activities and were visually stimulating.  I encouraged parents to instill the love of learning into their children from an early age, I truly believed and still do that if our children enjoy the learning process then the learning will come more easily.


The article states 'the use of digital video is a powerful way to motivate students, energize teaching and link to community.' This is what we must do!  If digital video that is created, edited and presented by the students can achieve this then do not hesitate in using it.  


I have discovered from my son that this is so true - he has started blogging, he is using video, he is loving the process - not for homework, not for an assignment - he is doing this for fun! But I bet he is learning too!


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The wonder of technology and the digital story

Today in class we had a guest speaker, unexpectedly she was a guest via video conferencing.

Our guest, Carmel, is a teacher who specialises in ICT, she is a Maths teacher and uses digital story telling with her class.  It was eye opening to think about using digital story telling in KLAs such as Maths and Science.  I have had very little experience with digital story telling so far however I can see that it could be a valuable tool especially for upper primary.  I will be in a Year 2 class for prac this semester so it is possible I could do a digital story with them. 

Matthew has just posed a question as I am typing this post - how do you deal with fast finishers or children who are struggling to get the work finished?  Well I think one possible solution would be to get the fast ones to help the not so fast ones.  Carmel told us that kids love to help their peers, this could be a solution to both issues.  Great presentation even if it was via Skype!

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Please tell me another story

My children, when they were younger, would always ask for just one more story.  We all love stories, whether they are in books, being told or in a movie. There is something magical about story telling.

In class last week we learnt all about digital story telling and making.  I have had no experience with this before, it was something that I thought only really clever techno folk could produce.  Well, thanks to the wonder of Photo Story 3 I have produced a digital story.  It has pictures, words and music - how clever am I?  And apparently it is up for an Oscar!  Well truth be told the whole class has the opportunity to win one of the few awards available - but who knows early next week I could be holding an imaginary gold statue in my hands!  "Oh I think I am going to cry, this is so unexpected!"                                                                                                                                                   Image Source

So here it is, enjoy!